Formidable South Africa is sitting comfortably at the number one spot in ODI Rankings that would not only boost their morale – to go into the multilateral 2017 ICC Champions Trophy but also the perennial chokers has a chance of all-time – to remove the tag of ‘underachievers’ which further came as a stumbling block for the Proteas unit in nutshell, in the recent past editions, particularly in the mega events of the world cricket governing body ICC.

Hoping against hope, the side would be aiming to bask the glory in the multi-team event of ICC while giving their best in crunch situations this time around.

AB de Villiers, who has been in-and-out due to injuries, will be leading the side, as they would be further hoping to take an advantage after successful bilateral series wins in the recent past, before facing England in a three-match Royal London One-day International series.

However, the ongoing series is seen as a preparatory campaign in a bid to acclimatise the conditions in the United Kingdom.

Overview:

While having a look at the chart of January 2016, South Africa has claimed 19 wins in the 28 matches played which further saw one game ending without any result, as they lost eight matches.

Coming to the mega event with some good wins under its belt, the team would like to break the jinx, in order to lift the coveted title again after 19 years. In 1998, South Africa thrashed West Indies to win the then ICC Wills International trophy which was based out on the knockout games.

While coming to head-to-head record in eight-team tournament which is dubbed as Mini World Cup, Proteas has claimed eleven wins and nine losses, as one ended without any result in overall 21 matches.

Termed as favourites, South Africa is placed alongside India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Group B and they are bound to get a decent fight from their respective opponents.

Following the history, the Proteas reached the semi-finals when ICC Champions Trophy was played in Kenya in 2000.

In 2002, South Africa was thrashed in the semi-finals when the event was held in Sri Lanka. However, in 2004 they were eliminated in the league stage when Sri Lanka hosted the tournament.

In 2006, when tournament reached India, South qualified for the semi -final before being thrashed out in the eliminator in 2009. In the previous addition, South Africa was having the brilliant run before they again misfired to clinch the title.

Where To Watch:

Stadium: If you want to go to the Stadium, tickets are available at the ICC Official website and ticketmaster.com

TV Channels (by country):

Country	Paid
Australia	Fox Sports (every game Live)
Afghanistan	Ten Sports
Bangladesh	Ten Sports
India	Star Sports (Every Match live) & Doordarshan (only India matches)
New Zealand	Sky NZ (Has not confirmed yet but most likely to retain broadcasting rights)
United Kingdom	Sky Sports 2 (Only network in the United Kingdom to broadcast Champions Trophy)
USA	WillowTV (Viewers in the USA can subscribe to WillowTV monthly package to get live access for Champions Trophy available on all platforms)
Canada	WillowTV
Sri Lanka	Star Sports (India)
Pakistan	Ten Sports(to broadcast all Champions Trophy matches) PTV (might have live coverage of only Pakistan matches.
Caribbeans	ESPN (not confirmed yet but ESPN is likely to win the rights in Caribbean countries)
South Africa	SuperSports(Confirmed as Champions Trophy broadcaster in South Africa and adjacent African countries)
Europe	No news so far about any coverage in European countries. But the Eurosport might scoop it if they able to negotiate a long-term deal with ICC to promote cricket in other euro countries.
Middle East	OSN Sports (Usually broadcast major cricket tournaments in some of the Gulf states)
Ireland	Since Ireland did not qualify, Irish viewers can only watch Champions Trophy via SkySports
ICC Champions Trophy 2017 – TV Channels Worldwide

Live Streaming: Hot Star

Live Score: Sportzwiki.com

SWOT Analysis:

Strength:

South Africa’s strength lies in their batting department which has been bolstered by skipper AB de Villiers himself alongside street-smart cricketer Quinton de Kock and veteran opening batsman Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, as they would be the batting mainstays for the Proteas in the 18-day event.

The number one bowler Imran Tahir is a wily customer, as he could unsettle the batsman with his odd-even googly who would be flanked by Keshav Maharaj.

Weakness:

South Africa has been faltering at the big stage when they had enough to rely on which further saw their batsman falling like the pack of cards.

However, the surfaces in England would be suiting batsmen too and their bowlers are supposed to bowl in tandem which seems a hard task to try out for.

The late middle-order could find their role tough in order to chase down the tricky totals and they are going to face the litmus test against formidable Indian and unpredictable Pakistan in the Group fixture.

Opportunity:

Having the quality batsman and the bowlers at the helm, South Africa is the strong contender to lift the trophy, but all they need is to shoulder the responsibility and compensate for each other.

While having Kagiso Rabada as the bowling spearhead alongside Chris Morris and Morne Morkel, the bowlers are capable enough to defend the score set by their batsmen, as they’ve quality experience on their back to showcase their best in the ICC tournament.

Threat:

Just like Pakistan, South Africa is a threat to its own, while having a blazing start they can lose the plot within no time even having the best of the players in business and fielders to save crucial runs.

The defeats at the bigger stages have become a custom for South Africa and they would be aiming to give their best to avoid trapping themselves in their own web.

Opinion – Talking Point:

While having the services of courageous all-rounder Chris Morris, Jean-Paul Duminy and Kagiso Rabada as a fast bowler alongside Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnel, they would form a decent trio in the bowling department which further would be assisted by Andile Phehlukwayo and Dwaine Pretorius if given a game.

The Proteas are expected to go long in this tournament; in general,the side looks pretty complacent.

It would be a litmus test for skipper AB de Villiers himself, who had a lean patch during the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), before straightway leading his side in the Royal London ODI series.

The batting prodigy has to come up the order — to score the bulk of runs for his team which further has availed the services of Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Hashim Amla, Jean-Paul Duminy and young sensation Quinton De Kock, who could knit the all-important partnerships to help their side to rule the roost.

Prediction In Proteas Favour:

It would be interesting to see how bowling department will compensate, as the pace bowlers have the ability to crank up the pace, swing the ball and deceive the batters at will.

Moreover, the Proteas batsmen are brilliant with the bat and they could chase down the target at ease while being embedded with the power-hitting and stroke making.

They have the better chances this time to qualify for the semi-finals from their group, but their hurdle is to get better off defending Champions India which seems more of a balanced side.

South African Squad:

Name	Role	Date of Birth (D.O.B.)
AB de Villiers (Skipper)	Bat	February 17, 1984
Hashim Amla	Bat	March 31, 1983
Quinton de Kock	Bat//WK	December 17, 1992
Faf du Plesis	Bat	July 13, 1984
JP Duminy	Bat	April 14, 1984
David Miller	Bat	June 10, 1989
Farhaan Behardien	All-Rounder	October 9, 1983
Chris Morris	All-Rounder	April 30, 1987
Andile Phehlukwayo	All-Rounder	3 March 1996
Imran Tahir	Bowler	March 27, 1979
Wayne Parnell	Bowler	July 30, 1989
Keshav Maharaj	Bowler	7 February 1990
Dwaine Pretorius	Bowler	29 March 1989
Morne Morkel	Bowler	October 6, 1984
Kagiso Rabada	Bowler	May 25, 1995